Goodbye, Dharamsala!

Tara

We started another day with stroll in the streets, waiting for the sleepy town to wake up [and provide us with breakfast ;-) ]. We went to the small temple once again - a peaceful and beautiful place, in the not-yet-busy street. The temple has beautiful, miniature paintings of goddess Tara on the pillars, and those of Buddha/Bodhisatva on the wall, all around the periphery. The colors, shading, and miniscule details that are carefully attended to, in all these paintings make one wonder at the patience of the artist(s)!

Bodhisatva

Different colors used to depict Bodhisatva's have significance - wrt the aspect of life they are believed to bless [eg, health, prosperity, learning, etc, though unfortunately I do not remember the details now].

The Temple with the Prayer Wheels

This time we were also able to take a picture of the entrance of the temple, though only the side that faced the street - the adjoining buildings/shops hid the rest.

Wild flowers
(can someone tell me what are they called?)

Himachal Tourism department has a guest house right at the end of the twin streets that constitute the main market. Though this guest house does not look very modern or comfortable, but it is much more spacious compared to the private properties around, and more important, has a vantage point in terms of location - located on the side of the hill, it has lawns one can walk in, or even have tea etc, while enjoying a view of the mountains, but undisturbed by the general traffic. We took a walk in the garden [perhaps we shouldn't have done it, but there was no-one around to tell us that we couldn't ;-)]

Contrast

At around 11 we checked out of the hotel (but left the luggage in their cloak room), as our bus was scheduled to depart at 6 pm in the evening, and we were to remain outside for most of this time.

Monastery in the valley
(This was visible from the lobby, didn't catch the name, perhaps it is Namgyal)

We decided to walk to Bhagsunag temple, an ancient temple of great religious import, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This required a 2.5 km walk, up and down the slopes, amidst scenic views and rhododendron trees. There was a lot of activity at the temple. There was a small market, almost like a fair, outside the temple. A pool, where water collected as it flowed down the mountain streams, and where people took bath before offering prayers. There were some parts which really did look ancient, but most of it was (relatively) recent construction. No pictures, unfortunately, of the temple :-(

Waterfall, as seen from Bhagsunag Temple

Taking a turn along the street, we sighted the waterfall we had glimpsed earlier from afar. The side of the rocky hill had been cut and paved with stones, to create a walkway to the waterfall. A signboard warned that the path was risky [due to previous landslides, that broke down the paved walk in some places, and blocked it in some others.] Morover, it was 1.5 kms long, and looked decidedly steep. We were in a dilemma as to go to the falls or not, as it seemed difficult to make it uptil there, and also to return to McLeodganj in time for the bus.

Waterfall - closer to the goal
In the left is the part of the path we walked

It's beauty really pulled us, and the attraction won over the misgivings :-) We decided we'd walk on, and return back if at any point we felt too tired, or seemed to be getting too late.


The only thing that marred the amazing beauty of the place was a few little shops to sell snacks and cold-drinks, two of them right at the foot of the fall. Worse than their sheer presence was the litter caused by apathetic shopkeepers and vistiors - the former washing dirty utensils in the hitherto pure water, and the latter throwing empty packages, cans and bottles any which way.


With some difficulty [my stamina is really poor!] we reached the falls, and the sights we were rewarded with, were more than worth the trouble we undertook. We would have liked to climb up the mountains to the top, from where the water was falling down, but time [and stamina too, to some extent] did not permit that at all.

Tiny white flowers growing in the rocks

We spent close to an hour there, though it was a place one could have spent hours on end, without tiring of the scenery, and there seemed to be a lot to explore around. I would have liked to walk down the hill to the stream that the waterfall transformed in to. But again, the fear of missing the bus prevailed :-)
Reluctantly, we dragged ourselves back, and started back. Coming down to Bhagsunag was much easier. And walking back to McLeodganj was not difficult either. In fact, we reached back with more than enough time in hand, and rued not spending more time in the falls!

And then, we had a bite to eat, collected our luggage from the hotel, and bid adieu to the Little Lhasa.

Goodbye, Dharamsala!

We found our bus was the same volvo we had come in [two buses ply on the route, starting from each end in the evening.] A few passengers boarded from McLeodGang, the majority were to board at Dharamsala. It is really a tough task maneouvering the huge bus on the narrow road on hair-pin bends. At one place, the driver realized that he had gone too far to turn, and reversed it, with the helper directing him about the wheels' position - this excercise actually scared on passenger off the bus! She hurriedly climbed down, and didnt climb back up until the driver had completed the turn! There was quite a wait at Dharamsala, but finally, after all the passengers boarded and settled down, the conductor switched on the movie - and imagine our extreme frustration, when a few seconds later we realized that the movie was none other than 'Jaani Dost'! Yes, the same hopeless nonsense one that they had shown on the onward journey!!

More about Dharamsala - IV

The exhaustion of the journey and previous day's excursion took its toll, and we were not able to wake up early and go for a walk towards the higher hills, as we had originally intended to. The sun was already up by the time we walked out, and looked for a place to have breakfast. In case you are wondering, we usually prefer to have parantha [a kind if Indian bread] at some dhaba [small eating joint] enjoying the activity in the streets, instead of having breakfast at the hotel, in small places like this. Surprisingly, hardly any restaurant was open even at 9:30! This was only lazy town - shops didn't start opening till 10 am or so, and started closing down around 7:30 pm [including some of the restaurants!]

Temple in the central circle

As mentioned earlier, there are two narrow roads running through the market, separated by a single row of shops, many of which opened at both ends. At the starting of these two roads near the central circle, is the booking office for buses. Next to it is a temple, which is not really a temple, but it just houses a set of Buddhist prayer wheels. It was very colorfully painted in gold and bright hues, in the characterstic style. Due to the narrow roads, there was no possible way we could capture the front or the side of this temple in a single frame. We captured a part of the front in the morning light.

Prayer wheels in Tsuglagkhang complex

Finally, the town started to wake up, and we managed to find a place to eat. Then we walked to the Dalai Lama temple, called as Tsuglagkhang complex. From the outside, it does not look like a temple. We entered through a gate, a cluster of buildings, protected by a boundary wall. There were a few shops, a small building housing a museum on Tibetan history, and many closely constructed buildings. Small signs led us to the entry of the temple; hostels for monks were also housed in the complex, and visitors to the temple were advised not to venture there. The temple itself is a large building, with a lot of open space, which one could not have imagined looking at the complex from outside. The place was sparse, but very neat and peaceful. Taking pictures was allowed, and to our great surprise, inside the main building as well.

Lord Buddha - the main prayer hall

Though I wonder what were these sacks for. Is there a fear of a terrorist attack?

Avlokiteswara

Tara

Padmasambhav

Prayer/Meditation hall

While coming back, we visited the museum. Although we had heard and read about the Chinese invasion on Tibet, it was perhaps the first time we learnt of the extent of torment the Tibetan nationals had to bear. Many people lost their lives, and many suffered grave injuries [including amputations due to frostbite and gangrene], trying to escape the atroicities. It was really heart-wrenching to learn about their troubled past [as well as present].

The streets were lined with people selling stone [including semi-precious stones] jewellery, souvenirs, decorative pieces and good-luck charms. Most of the shops also carried the same things - this is the main source of income in a tourism-driven economy.

Selling knick-knacks outside Tsuglagkhang Complex

An ancient church, known as 'St. John's church in wilderness" is about 1 km away from the central circle, on the main road to Dharamsala. In the afternoon, we walked towards the church. This time, walking was made difficult due to the heavy traffic along the road, including buses, and shared taxis. They emit a lot of diesel fumes, and drive at a break-neck speed that may be considered as crazy given the narrow, steep, winding roads.

Tree-lined walkway from the entrance to the church

The church is hardly visible from the town, or even from the gate at the pathway that leads to the church, such is the dense growth of Deodar trees around it. I can imagine that more than 100 years back when it was constructed, the area must really have been a wilderness!

Church of St John in the wilderness

A memorial in the church compound

(I think it was for world-war soldiers)
(Btw, this picture is not taken/manipulated in B/W)

The church itself is small, and made of stone, and looks every bit the ancient part. Inside, it has a few pews, but beautiful stained-glass windows.

Stained-glass windows

Yet another shop in the market:

Treasure-house?

Beautiful end to another beautiful day